Sunday, June 05, 2011

How To Fill USDA's New MyPlate, Or Not

Here's the USDA's new MyPlate, with samples, from an article in USAToday:

What do you think? Oh boy. I suppose the essence was captured. (What is that tan rectangle, lower right?) But I would have filled it differently.

First off, is this how people eat? I mean, is it realistic to recommend steamed "protein" and boiled vegetables to a construction worker? To a fast food employee? An office worker? That is, to anyone who isn't home or near a kitchen during the day? OK, I guess you could brown-bag it.

The proportions. I can see right off that their effort to visualize "more of this and less of that" has failed.

The "protein" people must be very happy that their "protein" is singled out and included in every meal an American is advised to eat. Likewise dairy. Manu said it best: "Dairy sits in a cup? what's the meaning of this you should drink dairy at every meal like it was water?"

Both Dr. Andrew Weil and the Weston A. Price Foundation recommend that dairy be full fat. The USDA says dairy should be low-fat or fat-free. Who knows? I say put your hand over that blue circle and pretend it isn't there.